Fr Leonard E Dollentas
Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz made history last July 26, 2021, by becoming the first athlete from the Philippines to win an Olympic gold medal. She was reduced to tears after dramatically winning gold in the women’s 55-kilogram weightlifting category. It was also a tender moment for Filipinos watching the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. For a country beset by political divisions, clouded hopes and a pandemic, an Olympic gold medal lifts spirits and brings fresh perspectives.
Hidilyn Francisco Diaz, an Air Force servicewoman in the Philippines with a rank of a sergeant, was recently promoted to the next higher rank of Staff Sergeant after the Olympic gold victory.
Hidilyn’s quest for the elusive Olympic gold medal took her to Beijing in 2008 and to London in 2012. She managed to take a silver medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The Tokyo Olympics was her crowning glory. But the road was not that easy. She expressed her frustration for the inadequate support she and other athletes received from the Philippine government. She tried to ask for financial assistance on social media. Providentially, some private individuals and organizations offered her financial and moral support. Before the Olympics, she was in the middle of a muddled political situation in her country. She was unfairly tagged as among those allegedly involved in a plot to oust the Philippine president in 2019. Her name was publicized and as a result, she was shamed on national television. She was relentlessly harassed and bashed online. But her tenacity and hard work made her determined to set her goal for the gold medal, to bring pride and glory to the country she loved. She spent a year and a half training in exile in Malaysia under Covid-19 curbs.
The dream for gold was even harder during the Tokyo games. In her path was Chinese world record holder Liao Qiuyun of China, who had been tagged as the lifter to beat in the Games. Hidilyn beat Liao Qiuyun, who took the silver medal with a lift of 223 kg while Zulfiya Chinshanlo of Kazakhstan won bronze with 213 kg. The 30-year-old athlete ended the Philippines’ gold medal drought since the country started participating in the Summer Olympics in 1924. “I just want to say that we Filipino are strong. We Filipino can compete here at the Olympics. We can do it. To all the young generations in the Philippines, please dream high. That’s how I started. I dreamed high and finally, I was able to do it,” she said.
Hidilyn is a proud Catholic and Marian devotee. Catholics around the world watching the Olympics did not fail to notice her tearfully lifting her miraculous medal, before receiving her gold medal during the awarding ceremony. For her, the Miraculous Medal is truly a symbol of Mary’s intercession and guidance. She received spiritual support from her faith group who prayed the novena to the Miraculous medal for her. She likewise prayed the novena, hoping that Mary would intercede for a miracle. And indeed, “Those who hope in me will not be disappointed” (Isaiah 49:23).
She showed her faith, however, not only in prayer. In an interview after she won the gold, she said, “I have forgiven [the critics] because I realized that the trials and challenges made me strong in my heart, in my body, in my faith. It was painful, but I chose to forgive.”
Indeed, no weight is unbearable with God.
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